A New York City judge ruled that an 87-year-old woman who was accidentally knocked down by several kids racing bicycles on the sidewalk could sue the kids, including one who was 4 years old, and who is thus legally presumed to understand the difference between “reasonable” and “unreasonable” behavior.
Liar,
liar,
pants
on fire
A 5-year-old boy in Dublin, Ireland, was awarded the equivalent of about $9,900 from a shopkeeper who had grabbed his arm and accused him, erroneously, of being a thief.
Under the law, the boy had to prove that he has, at age 5, a “reputation in the community” for truth-telling and that his reputation had been damaged.
Get out
and
stay out
Mr. Alkis Gerd’son moved out of student housing at Canada’s University of Victoria, which had been his home since 1991 — even though he long ago obtained his degree and had not taken a class in 13 years.
Gerd’son claims various stress disorders (over, perhaps, finding a job?) and had until now stymied efforts to evict him by filing claims before human rights tribunals.
(Send your Weird News to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa Fla. 33679 or go to www.newsoftheweird.com.)